Putin wants to “Reunify” Georgia

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who has often described the collapse of the Soviet Union as “the greatest tragedy” of the 20th century, has now said that the “reunification” of Georgia has “already been decided,” a suggestion some of his listeners believe was a call for restoring Moscow’s control over Georgia and even the former USSR as a whole. In an intriguing commentary published on Gazeta.ru, Bozhena Rynska describes both the celebration of the 80th birthday of longtime Soviet and Russian official Yevgeny Primakov and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s two very different toasts on that occasion .

The celebration took place at the Center of International Trade. Among those in attendance were Vice Prime Minister Sergey Ivanov, KPRF leader Gennady Zyuganov, Governor Valentina Matviyenko, Federation Council First Vice Speaker Aleksandr Torshin “and other government people of the first rank,” Rynska said. Primakov, she continued, has close ties to Georgia – he spent part of his childhood there, his first wife was a Georgian, and his mother was a Georgian Armenian – and consequently it was not surprising that many of the guests at his birthday celebration were people “with Georgian roots.”

Among them were former foreign minister Igor Ivanov (whose mother was Georgian, current foreign minister Sergey Lavrov (whose father was a Georgian Armenian), the oligarch Shalva Breus, Academician Viktor Gelovani, the singer Nani Bregvade, sculptor Zurab Tsereteli, and the master of ceremonies (“tamada”) was Moscow chief cardiologist David Ioseliani. Rynska noted that “throughout the entire evening, Ioseliani the tamada called Putin who was sitting next to Primakov the first person of the state,” a description that others in attendance followed, including apparently some who are serving officials and thus know that in protocol terms at least that title belongs to someone else.

In his first toast, Putin said “the history of Russia is complicated and at times bloody,” the prime minister said. “But in it,” he continued, there are its Primakovs, and therefore these blood lettings end and sometimes do not even begin.” Primakov responded in kind. He said, Rynska continued, “that he will always be devoted to Mr. Putin because the latter saved Russia.”

There followed entertainment including singing. And then Putin made his second toast. He “immediately warned that he very well understood that everything said will go beyond the walls of this hall. More than that,” Rynska continued, the Russian leader indicated that he was “counting on exactly that. Following that introduction, Putin declared that “the question of the reunification of Georgia had been decided. And that there are no questions which we cannot resolve.” Primakov, Putin continued, “is involved with this question,” a statement that sounded to many in attendance as a direct appointment in the tsarist style.

After some more singing, Putin left the hall, and the remaining participants began to talk among themselves as to what the prime minister’s intentions had been. Some of those with the closest Georgian ties concluded that Putin “’had said that he will return everything to us!’ That is, Rynska said, they heard exactly what they wanted to hear.”

“Those not affiliated to Georgia interpreted [Putin’s] programmatic toast entirely differently.” They heard as a promise that “all that we consider ours will remain ours.” And a few of them concluded that what Putin had committed himself to was “the restoration in a new form” of the entity that was once called “the Soviet Union.” Putin’s remark certainly was enigmatic enough to permit these various interpretations. Indeed, that may have been exactly his intention. But his participation in a session with so many Russians who have Georgian roots and ties will certainly be read in Tbilisi as yet another indication that the Russian prime minister has no plans to reduce pressure on Georgia.

At the very least, it suggests that Putin’s understanding of Russia’s sphere of influence includes not just Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which Moscow has already recognized as independent, but also the remainder of Georgia and the remainder of the former Soviet space, an understanding that will exacerbate rather than calm tensions in many other capitals as well.

18 responses to “Putin wants to “Reunify” Georgia”

I am ashamed that anyone from the Georgian diaspora would attend this even. Shame on Nani Bregvadze and all the other Georgians who went to celebreate anything with these scums! They are traitors to Georgia, I don’t know what the hell they are thinking TULLY SHAMEFUL.

So you spit on the rights of Ossetians and Abkhazians to national self-determination in favor of Georgia’s ultra-nationalist tie-chewing fascist freak excuse for a leader? Those same peoples who were subjected to attempted ethnic cleansing in the early 1990’s by the Georgian state?

KGB comrade 300,000 thousand Georgian r were ethnically cleansed out of abkhazia while 20,000 thosuands more have been killed. Georgian refugees are not allowed to return. Do you think that these refugees DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT to participate IN THAT REFORENDUM AND BE RETURNED to their hoems? Answer that
What attempt are you talking about? Georgians were actually the group that WERE ethnically cleansed out of Abkhazia and O.Ossetia, you should be ashamed of yourself.

I just don’t understand how Russians don’t get it that they are stepping on a rake with this Abkhazia and South Ossetia independence. Just north of South Ossetia is North Ossetia, it logically follows that if one is an independent state, the other should be as well.

And this is not just Caucasus, places like Republic of Tyva has a 77% native population, only 20% russians, and its larger than all the norther Caucasus countries combined (though small population).

There are a total of 11 republics where native populations outnumber russians. This independence stuff is just taking themselves one step closer to destroying the empire.

Yes, they are eager to divide Georgia and recognize Historical Georgian territories were majority were Georgians and many ethinc minorities as well did not want independence. They solve the majority problem of Georgians by ethnically cleansing them out from both places and giving regions independence on Georgian territory. While they committ genocide in very small Chechnya when they tried to fight for independence, and the whole start of war is very qustionable.

While Abkhazia and S. Ossetia are both Georgian land historically and with majority being Georgin (before Russian ethnic cleansing) Chehcnya, Ingushetia and other places have really nothing to do with Russia until it was colonized yet where is theri independence? Russia will fall like Soviet Union did soon, a country like Russia can not surive much longer.

KGB comrade must be an out off wedlock litter of Vasilij Blohin the CZK/KGB operative who was a chief butcher of Polish Oficers in Katyn and the biggest killer in human history, who by his own account personally murdered more than 50 thousand people.

In august 2008 Putin and his cronies made a concerted effort to place Georgia back under Russian tyranny. The strategy started long before that date if you recall agents of Putin entered South Ossetia years beforehand dishing out Russian citizenship to anyone who wanted it whether legally entitled or not, after years of this unscrupulous activity Putin then technically could claim that this part of sovereign Georgia now had a Russian majority.

Putin and his cronies armed the rebels and militarised the zone, after years of provocation he goaded the Georgian military into taking action, and the trap was sprung. We know this was all pre-planned. At the time Russia was engaged in the Kavkaz 2008 war games on Georgia’s boarder, Russia had a force of 50,000 in the area including the elite 59th division Russia’s only fully professional large fighting force who are based in the west of the country and are trained to defend against a possible NATO attack so why were they in the caucuses?.

The Russians plan almost came unstuck as the war games ended on the 2nd of august and the participants should have dispersed but Georgia was slow to rise to the daily provocations, embarrassingly 50,000 servicemen had to hang around for 6 more days.Finaly Russia deployed armour towards the Roki tunnel in the early hours of the 8th and Georgia responded.

This is when the Russian mis- information campaign kicked in with claims on outlets like rancid Russia Today that Georgia had embarked on a war of genocide against the people of South Ossetia they reported that 1500 people had been killed in the initial onslaught when it was later discoved that only 133 had died, the vast majority were combatants it is now clear to the world that Georgia NEVER targeted ordinary citizens.

Russia’s intention was not to stop at south Ossetia they fully intended to carry on to Tbilisi and got within 20 kilo meters. Russia deployed an overwhelming invasion force they dug in at the port of Poti to prevent aid coming in and place the country in a strangle hold. Rancid Russia Today the states English speaking mouthpiece would not report on the actions of the Russian forces inside Georgia forcing their own Georgian correspondent Mr Barker to resign.

So what stopped the Russians? Simple, NATO countries quickly gathered a force of 21 war ships in the black sea as a warning to the Russians .And when a courageous US destroyer landed at the port of Poti while the Russians were dug in and went eye ball to eye ball with these cowards the Russians lost their nerve and the rats negotiated their withdrawal.

Russia will not make this attempt again Georgia’s sovereignty will be protected so dream on Putin. And know this you little maggot we will not rest until Georgia is re-united.

I hope you’re right. But it seems to me that Georgia was merely the most overt of Putin’s probing of Western resolve. He found that he didn’t have the strength to take on NATO and whatever Eastern European nations would join in NOW, but that doesn’t necessarily mean much for his future plans.

After all, Hitler started out by sending the pathetic force that constituted his entire army across the rive into the Western Allied concessions on the Rhine, with strict orders to withdraw if the Belgians or French offered resistance.

It will slow them down, certainly, but it won’t stop them.

Give them a few years, and Putin may be either cocky enough or desperate enough to try it anyway.

A. This clear threat to Georgian sovereignty and independence will FINALLY kick the Western Allies into gear regarding Moscow and Eastern Europe, and

B. The South Ossestians and Abkhazians realize that Putin DOESN’T GIVE A DAMN about them. They were useful tools to try and finish solidifying his domination of the Caucasus and its oil pipelines, but now that Georgia is largely under the heel, Putin will discard them like yesterday’s diapers.

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